Review: ALL'S WELL: A STEAMPUNK MUSICAL at The Royal Knight Stage Company of RRHS

I guess we have come to expect such dicey artistic ventures from David O’Hara, River Ridge High School’s renowned theatre teacher.  Not only does he take a risk, but he is able to encourage so many of his talented teenaged students to artistically challenge themselves as well.  He will oftentimes pick provocative, socially conscious, envelope-pushing productions, and his students are always primed and ready to rise to the occasion. 

Mr. O’Hara has helped create one of the top-tiered theatre programs in all of Tampa Bay.  Unlike some of the other strong magnet schools—Blake High School in Tampa or Gibbs High School in St. Pete, schools with more than one teacher in the theatre department—Mr. O’Hara has done it pretty much on his own.  (There is not another tech teacher or musical theatre teacher on hand at RRHS’ FAME Academy, although he does utilize the musical direction services of former Pasco educator, Darrell Huling.) 

This year, Mr. O’Hara has chosen to produce a show that made its mark in our area nearly thirty years ago: ALL’S WELL: A STEAMPUNK MUSICAL based on William Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well. (It ended its run on Saturday, November 9th.) Part of the Shakespeare in the Park phenomena that American Stage produced in the 1990s, ALL’S WELL was one of the standout productions with a score by Lee Ahlin and a spot-on adaptation by Paul Mullins.  It’s a smart choice for a group of students, most of whom are prodigious musically, who can ultimately learn to tackle the language of the Bard.   

All’s Well That Ends Well is not considered upper echelon Shakespeare. It, along with Measure for Measure and Troilus and Cressida,  is deemed a “problem play” by Frederick Boas in his 1896 book, Shakespeare and his Predecessors. These are plays filled with ambiguity in tone, varying between violence and comedy with an underscoring of darker psychological drama.  I first experienced All’s Well That Ends Well at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival decades ago (they had set the show in World War I).  Although entertaining, there’s a reason the play is usually found near the bottom of the list of Shakespeare’s works. It’s slight, without many memorable quotes (set aside from its now-clichéd title), and usually disappears into the shadows of his more famous works.  

Still, All’s Well That Ends Well does involve one of Shakespeare’s most underrated heroines, Helena, who after curing the King of France, is offered the hand of any man in the area.  She chooses a count (and a cad), Bertram, who she loves despite being of such a higher social order than she.  (For the record, Bertram is perhaps the most unlikable “hero-lover” in all of the Bard’s canon.)  Bertram, unhappy with being set-up with Helena, flees to warring Italy in order to sleep around.  And in one of the most eye-rolling plot twists in all of Shakespeare, Helena tricks Bertram into bedding her (changing places with a local wench, don’t ask), ultimately getting pregnant and winning his hand. It’s about as basic and shoddy an ending as the turn-into-a-slut-to-win-the-jock’s-heart theme of Grease.

After watching the musical version, I wondered if anyone unfamiliar with the work would understand the happenings at all.  (Perhaps a plot synopsis in the program would help those new to the Bard.)

As for this musical version of ALL’S WELL, Lee Ahlin’s songs are all quite lovely, with some definite standouts: “It’s Them Legs,” “Hard to Be a Lady,” “Led by Love,” and the catchy title tune.  My main qualm with ALL’S WELL is that it hasn’t figured out whether it’s a true musical (the songs and the scenes united) or just a Shakespeare play peppered with clever songs.  There seems to be two works working against each other—the musical side of the show and the proper Shakespeare play; I never felt that the two connected as a whole.  Perhaps more songs should have been composed for it, or even more music backdropping the dialogue sections (a la the talky second half of Sondheim’s unfinished Here We Are!) As it stands, it didn’t feel complete to me as a musical.

But any misgivings of the actual musical aside, the production by the River Ridge’s Royal Knight Stage Company is superlative.

Lana Greene makes for a perfect Helena; the moment she sang “Everybody’s Going to Paris” instantly proved why she is one of the area’s strongest performers.  The towering Quentin Parkes makes for a formidable Bertram (incredibly strong vocals); make no mistake, Bertram is still a reprobate without redeeming qualities, but at least Mr. Parkes makes him far more likable than he deserves to be.

The show started off with some shaky vocals but then came into its own, with some of the best harmonies heard anywhere.

Haylee Smith gets the job done as the Countess, and Mr. Stephen Snow (a teacher at RRHS) is sensational as the King. I loved the moment of his when, after he’s cured, we think he’s still ailing as he walks hunchbacked, but then he falls and immediately gets up with gusto like Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. 

Gavin Love is quite wonderful as the deceitful Parolles, and Tallen Huerta is strong as the wise (and, for some reason, hoarse) Lafew. Lilly Grodszinsky makes the most of the Widow, and what could be a throwaway part becomes one of the best of the production.  She’s aptly supported by the talented Annabel Perez as Mariana. 

Stealing the show are Riley Callegari and Jamie Gaeng as the wacky Dumaine Brothers.  They both have wondrous comedic ability, and the hilariously over-the-top Mr. Gaeng is truly an onstage force to reckon with. He resembles a young Brent Hinkley, and you get the feeling that no clean thought has ever entered the character’s giddy head.

Bella Boytsan is a standout as the chaste Diana and  proves that even a character who enters in Act 2 can still be one of the stars of the show.  She’s radiant.

The ensemble sound glorious: Aylani Hidalgo, Adrienne Moochner, Allen Berberena, McCoy Harrop, Thomas Lockhart, Aiden Graham, Giana Carter, Loralei Higgins, Gage Hersey, Olivia Maggio, Ella Morris, Lindi Morrison, Alyssa Torum, and Tyler Thomas (a young boy).

My pick for best in ALL’S WELL goes to Jace Skinner as Lavacha, the countess’s masked clown.  Rather than steampunk, he comes across as a Rococo fool (so much so that when he’s dressed head to toe in white, he reminds me of Watteau’s Pierrot).   This young man, only a freshman, absolutely owns the stage, and his big tap-tastic number, “It’s Them Legs,” is the showstopper that ALL’S WELL needs.  Aided by two phenomenal dancers, Hannah Greene and the electric Kathryn Thomas, Mr. Skinner galvanizes the stage here and the audience realizes that we are in the presence of some sort of prodigious greatness.    

Chris Sell’s choreography, aided by dance captain Kathryn Thomas, works quite well, but I wanted more numbers like “It’s Them Legs” and the wonderful “Hard to Be a Lady.”  "Everybody's Joining the Army" is another stunner, reminding me of the choreography of "Peron's Latest Flame" from Evita.  It’s usually a good thing wanting more, but here I feel it’s a deficit because the dance numbers are so few and far between. 

Musical Director Darrell Huling gets so much from this young cast--heavenly, angelic vocals, blending gorgeously, that my main issue turns out to be a good one...that I wanted more group vocals (and, yes, more musical numbers).  The talented and tight-sounding ALL'S WELL musicians--past and present educators as well as Pasco students--include Barb Huling on piano, Pat Deighton on synthesizer, Teo Gacanica, Leslie Napolitano, Monica Duquette and Mariano Rodriguez.  They are conducted by Chris Greco. 

Tom Hansen’s set is a winner, sort of like a giant erector set and perfect for Steampunk (merging the Victorian Era with modern tech and fantastical fiction).  Best of all are Lilly Marcel’s costume designs.  This is a fully realized goth look.  The cast don marvelously mad masks, goggles, and even head coverings with pointed beaks like the animated Heckle and Jeckle merging with Gonzo of the Muppets and Antonio Prohias’ Spy Vs. Spy. It's one gorgeous production. 

David O’Hara has directed the cast brilliantly, and he has accomplished the near-impossible task: Having a young cast not only tackle Shakespeare, but having them do it by speaking slowly and passionately so we can understand those wonderful words.  And we know that they understand those words, which is just as important.  So often we hear young performers accelerate through their lines like they’re in some sort of fast-forward contest and we, the audience, miss out.  This happens very rarely if at all here.  

The Royal Knight Stage Company has done it again.  And even though I wanted more musicality from the show--more songs, more dancing, more of Mr. Ahlin’s gorgeous score--I still enjoyed myself thoroughly. This is one of the most talented groups of young performers you’ll find anywhere, doing a show that has been resurrected from the vaults for nearly thirty years and breathing it back to life. In an extremely hard year—with our area overwhelmed by two hurricanes as well as other devastating world and national events—they have sparked much-needed hope in the audience and in me.  I can’t thank them enough.

Photo Credit: Mike Carlson. 

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